After trying to untangle its operations in Russia over past 18 mos, Heineken sold its operations in country for symbolic sum of 1 euro, or $1.10, to Arnest Group, co announced Fri. "Recent developments demonstrate the significant challenges faced by large manufacturing companies in exiting Russia," said ceo Dolf van den Brink. Arnest, a large household goods and cosmetics maker, last Sep paid Ball Corp $530 mil for its biz in country. As part of Heineken deal, Arnest will pay $108 mil to repay debt of Russian biz back to the parent company.

The Fresh Market's owner of past year, South American retailing giant Cencosud, is planning to add 22 stores to chain's fleet of 159 stores over next 24 months, reversing the contraction that had become a regular feature of Fresh Market's ownership over 6-year period by PE firm Apollo Management. Recall that operator of Jumbo groceries in Chile and other banners had taken majority stake in Fresh Market last summer, prompting retailer to reverse plans to proceed with IPO (BBI, May 11 2022). As Grocery Dive noted, Cencosud has moved quickly to put Fresh Market on more stable financial footing, steering $265 mil of its $676 mil to pay down debt. Now it's ready to expand reach of retailer, whose footprint currently spans 22 states. It celebrated its 41st anniversary in Jun. Word of the expansion emerged on Cencosud's quarterly earnings call late last week.

As Celsius Holdings rides its distribution partnership with PepsiCo to greater ubiquity, particularly on foodservice side, it's been revving up collegiate marketing vehicle it dubs Celsius University - from 17 so-called student marketing ambassadors last year to 170 this year. At our request, marcom Nicole Russomanno at Boca Raton, Fla-based energy drink marketer offered us glimpse into how co structures program it dubs Celsius University.

Acquisitive packaging player TricorBraun, which acquired Zuckerman Honickman a coupla years back (BBI, Jan 6 2022), has notched CanSource as its latest pickup earlier this month. Seller was Broadtree Partners, which acquired CanSource in 2019, Private Equity Professional reminded. A dozen years old now, CanSource offers brite, shrink-sleeved and printed cans to alc and NA bev marketers out of 4 US locations, including its Longmont, Colo, hq and sites in Calif, NC and Penn. Also in offering mix are cap ends, 4-pack and 6-pack holders and trays and graphic design services. St Louis-based TricoBraun, which is owned by Ares Management and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, emphasized that all CanSource employees will continue with co out of their existing locations . . . After successful transition so far in Canada, PepsiCo said it's ready to offer paperboard wraps and clips in place of plastic rings on multipacks for a wide range of its brands, both CSDs and noncarbs like Gatorade. Phased, regional rollout will commence later this year, per announcement yesterday from PepsiCo Beverages North America. Brands in line for conversion include Pepsi, Pepsi Zero, MTN Dew, Starry and Gatorade, as well as 7 Up in Canada, where PEP controls that brand. PBNA argued that there are few tradeoffs in making that sustainability leap: the new format is easy to implement on shelf for retailers, it offers branding opportunity and is recyclable.

Meal replacement marketer Huel is graduating to making its own products. UK-based has selected site in Milton Keynes for its first plant at investment of £8 mil ($10 mil), with warehouse ops due to come onstream early next year followed by production that summer. Plant will start by producing the co's core powdered offerings as well as its Hot & Savory line for UK and EU customers, but will move on to its RTD bevs too. Startup phase is anticipated to create 30 jobs, taking payroll of "Hueligans" to rougly 300. Among sustainability features of site, it offers 100% solar coverage, enabling Huel to slash its total mfg emissions by 40%, the co indicated . . . No details are being offered quite yet, but Uncle Matt's Organic, the maker of refrigerated juice that was reclaimed by founder Matt McLean after liquidation of Dean Foods, is on same path as Huel. "After 24 years of working with copackers, we're finally taking the leap to become our own bottler," he posted this week, with new facility due to come online later this year . . . PepsiCo Beverages North America officially opened its 109K-sq-ft distribution center in Boise, the co's first to sport Pepsi brand's new logo in its external signage. Recall that PEP unveiled its first logo redo in 14 years this past spring. Among site's more fundamental features, it employs fully electrified warehouse equipment, state-of-art fleet shop and optimized warehouse space to support years of future growth, per the company . . . DreamPak's chief sales officer Tarik Gamay has gotten back to us with further details of major expansion of its core plant in Wis whose groundbreaking we reported on Wed (BBI, Aug 23). Expansion will require roughly 9-12 mos, he informed us, and will most likely include an increase in liquid processing capacity to support refrigerated creamers, water enhancers, liquid sweeteners and cheese sauce, among various biz segments, as well as raw material and finished good storage, automated secondary packaging for shelf-stable cups and meal kits, inclusion of dry blending capabilities and additional incoming/outgoing dock space.

Tho adult-use market hasn't kicked in yet in Minnesota, the segment of hemp-derived THC such as delta-9 bevs seems already to be turning into a substantial business, early tax data is suggesting. Gopher State collected $594K in tax revenues from cannabis-infused edibles like gummies and bevs last month, per state Dept of Revenue data picked up by CBS News. With 10% gross receipts tax in place for items that contain THC, that indicates that sector could be generating sales at annual rate of $70 mil, yielding $7 mil for state coffers, as Ganjapreneur calculated. The reported tax payments came from 571 businesses in Jul. Minnesota Public Radio assessed that adult-use cannabis sales, once those regs go thru in coming year or so, are projected to yield $42 mil from gross receipts tax in first two years and rise as high as $120 mil in the two years after that. Medical cannabis sales aren't subject to any taxes and won't be taxed once adult-use market rolls out. As we've chronicled, Minn has been something of a hotbed of THC experimentation lately as fluke in law has allowed delta-8 and delta-9 bevs to permeate on- and off-premise retail, offering lucrative new revenue stream to dozens of craft brewers and so far not stimulating publicly reported adverse effects (BBI, Apr 19 and 20).

Alc-alternative segment already is riding moderation wave, particularly among younger legal-age drinkers, but it may end up with further wind at its back if US decides to move in direction of Canada, which recommends that people consume no more than 2 drinks per week, well below US rec of 2 a day for men, 1 a day for women. Could this happen? Dr George Koob, dir of National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism, told Daily Mail he's keeping an eye on Canada's "big experiment" to determine whether US should likewise cut its guidance, once USDA review concludes in 2025. "If there's health benefits, I think people will start to re-evaluate where we're at" in US, said Dr Koob. Asked in what direction the guidelines could change, he responded: "I mean they're not going to go up, I'm pretty sure." If they go in any direction, "it would be toward Canada."